# Cookroom > Cookroom is a new meal planner for your family, even when everyone eats different things at different times. Jeffrey Bunn and Maria Golikova, who started Mealime, are building it. It should be ready to try before the end of the year. ## What Cookroom is Cookroom is a new meal planner for your family, even when everyone eats different things at different times. - Founders: Jeffrey Bunn and Maria Golikova, who started Mealime - Based in: Vancouver, Canada - When: It should be ready to try before the end of the year - How to hear first: [Join the list](https://cookroom.app/#signup). You’ll be the first to know when you can try Cookroom. ## Pages - [Cookroom](https://cookroom.app/): The introduction and the email list signup. - [A new meal planner from the people who started Mealime](https://cookroom.app/mealime/): For people coming from Mealime. Mealime closed on October 21, 2026. Who we are, what Cookroom is, and answers to common questions. - [Press](https://cookroom.app/press/): The story, the facts, the founders’ photo and the logo files. - [Our story](https://cookroom.app/story/): How Jeffrey Bunn and Maria Golikova started Mealime, let it go, and why they’re building Cookroom, with a timeline. - [Privacy notice](https://cookroom.app/privacy/): What the site and the email list collect, and your choices. ## Our story Jeffrey Bunn and Maria Golikova started Mealime in 2013 by emailing PDF meal plans. It grew into the Mealime app, and more than 7 million people have used it. They sold Mealime in 2018, and Albertsons bought it later on. Mealime is discontinued as of October 21, 2026. Now they’re parents, and they’re building Cookroom, a new meal planner for families, even when everyone eats different things at different times. It should be ready to try before the end of the year. The full story: https://cookroom.app/story/ ## Timeline The moments that shaped Mealime, and led us to Cookroom. ### Mealime - Nov 2011: We meet through friends, one weekend in Whistler. - Sep 2012: The idea for Mealime comes to us on Vancouver’s SkyTrain. - Jan 2013: A simple website, and meal plans emailed as PDFs without any photos. - Apr 2013: A guest post on Lifehacker brings 4,000 free-trial sign-ups. - Jul 2013: Jeffrey quits his job to work on Mealime full time. - Oct 2014: Mealime is rebuilt as a web app, with tested, photographed recipes and a grocery list you can check off. - 2016: The Mealime mobile app launches, and Apple features it in its first week. - Feb 2018: 1 million people have signed up. - Aug 2018: We sell Mealime to a private equity company. ### In between - 2020: We launch Clearful, a journaling app that becomes an App Store Editor’s Choice. - 2021: Mealime is sold again, to Albertsons. - 2025: Our daughter is born, and the way we plan and cook changes. ### Cookroom - Sep 2026: A longtime user tells us Mealime is shutting down. Within a day, we go all in on Cookroom. - Oct 21, 2026: Mealime closes. More than 7 million people used it. - End of 2026: Cookroom should be ready to try. ## A note from Jeffrey and Maria Our kitchen looks a lot different these days. We have a daughter now, and most weeks are a mix. Some meals we prep ahead, some we make just for her, and some nights we’re making it up as we go. We’re building Cookroom for weeks like ours. You might know us from Mealime. We started it together, and when we sold it in 2018, we thought it would be around for a long time. It was later sold to Albertsons, and it closed on October 21. That was hard to watch. If Mealime was part of your week, thank you. It meant a lot to us. We’re working hard on Cookroom, and it’s coming soon. We’d love for you to come along. ## Coming from Mealime - Is Cookroom the same app as Mealime? No. Cookroom is a new app. We’re building it from scratch. - Will my Mealime account or recipes carry over? No. Cookroom is a new app, so nothing transfers from Mealime. But you can tell us the Mealime recipes you love. - When can I try Cookroom? It should be ready to try before the end of the year. - How do I hear first? Join the list. You’ll be the first to know when you can try Cookroom. - Will Cookroom have a free plan? Yes! Cookroom will be free to use, with an optional upgrade for people who want more. We want anyone to be able to plan and cook good meals at home. - How will Cookroom be different from Mealime? Cookroom is a brand new app, but a lot of it will feel familiar: simple planning, recipes that actually taste good, and a grocery list that makes shopping easy. What’s new is how much more it can do for your household, from one person to a whole family, and all the different needs that come with it. ## Facts - Mealime: Started in 2013, used by more than 7 million people, sold in 2018, discontinued as of October 21, 2026 - Cookroom is independent and isn’t affiliated with Mealime or Albertsons Companies. - Press: jeff@cookroom.app - Support: support@cookroom.app ## Optional - [Full text](https://cookroom.app/llms-full.txt): The words of the home page, /mealime/, /press/ and /story/ in one file.